Favourite soaping books

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aussie

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My birthday is coming up and MIL & FIL have offered to buy some soap-making books for me. I'm a soaping newbie, vegetarian, more interested in using natural colours/fragrances (if any) than artificial stuff, and I think at some stage I'd like to try liquid soaps too...

I've looked at 'the everything soapmaking book' & 'the natural soap book'... any thoughts on either of those? Any other suggestions?
And do you think it is worth getting books, or are they just a repeat of stuff I'd find on the web? I do a fair bit of reading online and have managed so far to figure out what I'm doing, with plenty of new ideas to try when I have time... it'd be annoying if I got a book and it just told me what I already know. Should I ask for other bits and bobs (a couple of essential oils maybe?) instead? Or I could completely freak out my MIL and ask for some potassium hydroxide, I have no idea where to find that but FIL is a retired chemical engineer so I'm sure he'd dig some up :D
 
A basic book that you can pull off your shelf is useful, even if it repeats information that you already know. Alicia Grosso's Everything Soap book is about to come out in a new revised (3rd?) edition so it might be worth waiting for that. You can learn a lot on forums like this one but it doesn't hurt to have all of the information in one place.

Older books that are dated but still have useful information are Susan Miller Cavitch's two books (one is sufficient, they offer pretty similar information) and Anne Watson's books, Smart Soapmaking and her book on milk soaps. These could be found used for not a lot of money.

If you want an advanced, technical work on soap making, try Kevin Dunn.

If you're just getting started, my priority list would be safety goggles or shield, gloves, good digital scale that measures in grams, and stick (immersion) blender. Sodium hydroxide and basic soaping oils - olive, coconut, palm (you can buy sustainable and organic pretty reasonably). Essential oils are obtained much more inexpensively on line than in your local health food store. Try New Directions Aromatics - they have an Aussie branch. I think there's something called Aussie natural supply(ies?) but one of your compatriots would know better than I.

Hope you get lots of good soaping Birthday loot!
 
Happy Birthday! :D

I second judymoody's recommendations for books. Those are the books I have and Anne Wilson's book is the one that finally motivated me to attempt my first batch (along with encouragement from forum members). EOs are volatile and lye can destroy them in cold process. I'd ask for a crockpot which has 3 temp controls (warm, low and high) and HP any batches in which you use EOs. You also might want to ask for two of them. A smaller one for small or test batches and at least a 7 quart for larger batches and for liquid soap batches.

You may have already seen these discussions and agriffin's blog since you're interested in natural colorants. But I thought I'd post them just in case you hadn't read them.

Botanical Colors by green soap
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/viewtopi ... =1&t=27147

Herbal infusions for colors and scents by green soap
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/viewtopi ... =1&t=28553

Natural Soaps Colorant Gallery
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/07/natura ... -at-trace/

Color Soap Naturally
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/07/color- ... ly-series/

Natural Colorants in Soap Making
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapm ... colors.htm
 
Thanks for the advice. Yep, a book would probably be good, I think I am just so used to looking stuff up online :lol:
Will forward your book suggestions to the inlaws! :D And maybe ask for some essential oils too.
I already have the basics... safety gear, stick blender, etc... and I can buy base oils fairly easily. (Besides I wonder what MIL would think if I asked for a big bottle of castor oil :p ). No sure about a crock pot at this stage, my soap stuff all came from the op shop so my main mixing 'bowl' is actually an old crock pot insert - if I want to try hot process I can bung it in the oven. It's a smaller one but I'm only soaping for myself and family/friends so it should do - just means I can try more different batches before my laundry fills up :D
 
I see most of your questions have been answered - as for the potassium hydroxide try Escentials at Noosa. I've just received an order from them last week and it came so quick - ordered 12noon wed and it was in my hot little hands by thurs 3pm. Mind you I couldn't lift it 2 - 20 kg drums CO. :lol: As for a book you could try the Idiots Guide to Soapmaking and The Book Depository has cheap books with no postage to Oz.
 

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